Stephanie Mills first came to fame as "the little girl with the big voice" as the star of the hit Broadway play, The Wiz, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic book, The Wizard Of Oz. She had many R&B hits such as "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," "I Feel Good All Over," "(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me," "Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)" and "Home" along with one certified million selling single, "Never Knew Love Like This Before." In addition, she also had five gold albums: Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', Sweet Sensation, Stephanie, If I Were Your Woman and Home.
Mills honed her rich vocals singing gospel music at Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church as a small child. At age 9, she began appearing in the Broadway play Maggie Flynn. She was presented with first prize after winning "The Amateur Hour" talent contest six weeks straight at New York's famed Apollo Theater when she was nine. That success led to her being chosen as the opening act for The Isley Brothers, eventually becoming good friends with lead singer Ronald Isley. Many years later, Isley would manage and later marry singer/songwriter Angela Winbush, who co-wrote one of her number one R&B hits. Mills' début album, Movin' In The Right Direction was recorded for ABC Records in 1974. A year later, she won the role of Dorothy in The Wiz. Her rendition of the beautiful ballad "Home" was a showstopper, mesmerizing audiences nightly for a number of years. The original cast recording of The Wiz was produced by Jerry Wexler and issued by Atlantic Records in spring 1975. Curiously, when The Wiz was made into a full length feature film by Motown Records' film division and Universal Pictures, Diana Ross played the role of Dorothy instead of Mills. The film ended up being a major flop.
Singer Jermaine Jackson referred Mills to Motown head Berry Gordy, who signed her to the label. Her Motown debut was For the First Time, written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, being issued in October 1976. For the First Time is a sweet affair with Mills convincingly covering Bacharach/David standards, most of which were originally recorded by Dionne Warwick. In 1978, she signed to 20th Century Records and was teamed with the hit production duo of James Mtume — later leader of Mtume, who had a gold single with "Juicy Fruit" — and Reggie Lucas. Her first LP for the label, Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', went gold, going to number 12 R&B and number 22 pop on Billboard's charts in summer 1979 and spawned the singles, "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" and "You Can Get Over." Her next LP, Sweet Sensation (#3 R&B, #16 Pop, spring 1980) yielded "Sweet Sensation," "Never Knew Love Like This Before," and the radio-aired LP track, "Try My Love." Around this time, she briefly married former Soul Train dancer Jeffrey Daniels of the group Shalamar. Next came the LP titled Stephanie in spring 1981, which also was a huge hit, peaking at #3 R&B and #30 Pop. The album included notable songs such as "Two Hearts" — a midtempo duet with Teddy Pendergrass — "Night Games" and the radio-aired LP cut, "Don't Stop Doin' What Cha Do."
In 1981, Mills switched to Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. Her LPs for the label included Tantalizingly Hot, Merciless and I've Got The Cure. During 1983, she had her own NBC-TV daytime talk show and reprised on role in a Broadway revival of The Wiz. She also signed with MCA Records, where she released her Stephanie Mills album.
The first single from the Stephanie Mills album was "Stand Back," in late 1985, which also included the passionate ballad "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love." "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love" was initially written by Rene Moore and Angela Winbush — best known as the hit singing duo Rene & Angela — as a gospel song and originally was recorded by Alton McClain and Destiny on their self-titled 1978 Polydor LP. The original version is available on Polygram's Power of Love: Best of Soul Essentials Ballads. Because of its massive radio play as an album track, Mills' version of "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love, — produced by Philly Soul keyboardist Ron Kersey — was reissued as an A side holding the #1 R&B spot for two weeks in spring 1986. Its follow-up, "Rising Desire" reached #11 R&B in summer 1986.
Her next LP's title cut was the Clay McMurray/Gloria Jones/Pam Sawyer song, "If I Were Your Woman," originally a 1971 #1 R&B, #9 Pop smash for Gladys Knight and the Pips. Philly-based producer Nick Martinelli gave Mills her second #1 R&B hit with "I Feel Good All Over," written by husband and wife songwriting duo, Gabriel Hardeman and Annette Hardeman. The song held the #1 R&B spot for three weeks in spring 1987. Originally submitted to Mills' fellow MCA labelmate Patti Labelle by the Hardemans, the track was included on Mills' LP If I Were Your Woman, issued June 1987 and peaked at #30 Pop in summer 1987. Paul Laurence produced and co-wrote with Timmy Allen the chugging '"(You're Putting) a Rush On Me" giving the singer her third #1 R&B hit in fall 1987. The single made it to #85 Pop and was followed by "Secret Lady," which landed at #7 R&B in late 1987. Her covers of "If I Were Your Woman" and "Where Is The Love" followed. All were included on her If I Were Your Woman album, which peaked at #1 R&B, #30 Pop in summer 1987. Following these hits, Mills contacted Ronald Isley about working with singer/songwriter/producer Angela Winbush who had hits as half of Rene and Angela and was forging a hit-filled career as a recording artist and producer for the group Body among others. The collaboration between Mills and Winbush resulted in another #1 R&B single, "Something In The Way You Make Me Feel," in summer 1989.
Having starred for five years in the smash Broadway show The Wiz and recorded the song "Home for the play's 1975 original cast soundtrack album, she wanted to record the song again as a posthumous tribute to the play's producer, Ken Harper, and the song's composer, Charlie Smalls. On her new version of "Home," Take 6 sung the background vocals. The song went to #1 R&B in late 1989 and was followed by "Comfort Of A Man" and "Real Love." The Home LP ended up peaking at #5 R&B, #82 Pop in summer 1989. She then recorded a charting single with J.T. Taylor titled "Heart To Heart" in late 1991. Her final MCA album, Something Real included the hit "All Day All Night" and "Never Do Wrong." Following this album, she recorded a gospel album, Personal Inspirations, for Interscope Records and recorded several tracks at Philadelphia International Records with Bunny Sigler among others in the late '90s.
After a hiatus from recording Mills returned with sixteenth album, "Born For This" in 2004. It includes the singles "Can't Let Him Go" and "Healing Time." Mills is currently working on her seventeenth album titled "Breathless." The lead single chosen is a song called, "Yesterday."
Healing Time
Stephanie Mills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I can't stay
So I'm making up the bed where we used to lay
Take my pictures from the frame
And don't call my name
And don't come around
It's such a shame
But time heals all pain
I love you from afar
And you'll do the same
(You go your way and I'll go mine)
(It's healing time)
It'll be bad for you, but good for me
The healing time
Now the hardest thing is knowing that we will never be
But I'd rather say goodbye than live a lie
It' s healing time
Trying to be friends sometimes don't work
The closer we get, the more it hurts
So just give back my gifts
And please don't say please
And don't, don't, don't play that song
The one called 'on bended knees'
Just say goodbye
Don't let me see you cry
Maybe we'll meet again under some other sky
(You go your way and I'll go mine)
(It's healing time)
(It'll be bad for you, but good for me)
(The healing time) The healing time
(Now the hardest thing is knowing that we will never be)
(But I'd rather say goodbye than live a lie)
(It' s healing time, healing time)
Don't look for no words
There's nothing to say
You can't change my mind
'Cause there ain't no way
Please no last kiss, I gave one last try
We can't be friends, Lord knows we've tried
(You go your way and I'll go mine)
(It's healing time)
(It'll be bad for you, but good for me)
(The healing time) It's healing time
(Now the hardest thing is knowing that we will never be)
Never, ever, ever, ever be
(But I'd rather say goodbye than live a lie)
(It' s healing time, healing time) No-woh
(You go your way and I'll go mine) Go your way
(It's healing time) And I'll go mine
(It'll be bad for you, but good for me) Bad for you
(The healing time)
(Now the hardest thing is knowing that we will never be)
Will never, ever be
(But I'd rather say goodbye than live a lie)
It' s healing time, healing time
Go your way, I'll go mine
Never be, never be, never be, no, no more, babe
Bye-bye, baby, bye- bye, bye-bye, bye-bye,
I've got to go
Think I held on too long
The song "Healing Time" by Stephanie Mills speaks about the aftermath of a failed relationship and the healing process that follows. The first verse conveys the decision to leave a relationship that is no longer working, with the singer removing all traces of her former lover from her life, including pictures and memories. Although difficult, she believes that time will eventually heal the pain and help her move on. Both parties are advised to go their separate ways and allow the healing to begin. The chorus reinforces the idea that the break-up may be tough, but ultimately worth it in the end, and it's time to move on and start the healing process.
The second verse stresses that attempting to remain friends after a break-up is often painful, with memories lingering long after the relationship is over. In the final stanza, the singer concludes by stating that there isn't anything left to say or do, and it's time to move on. Despite having tried to make it work, it is clear that the relationship is over, and the singer must say goodbye to a part of her life that is no longer viable.
Overall, the song is about coming to terms with moving on from a relationship that is no longer working. It encourages listeners to take the time to heal and accept the inevitability of change. It is a poignant reminder that healing takes time and that the end of one relationship paves the way for new beginnings.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't wanna go
I don't want to leave
But I can't stay
But staying isn't an option
So I'm making up the bed where we used to lay
I'm taking care of the memories we had together
Take my pictures from the frame
Remove all traces of us from sight
And don't call my name
Don't try to reach out to me
And don't come around
Don't come looking for me
It's such a shame
I regret that it had to end this way
But time heals all pain
The passage of time can offer healing
And I'll be ok
I'll be all right eventually
I love you from afar
I still have feelings for you, though I keep my distance
And you'll do the same
I hope you also find a way to move on
(You go your way and I'll go mine)
(We'll go separate ways)
(It's healing time)
(Time to heal)
It'll be bad for you, but good for me
This will be harder for you than it is for me
Now the hardest thing is knowing that we will never be
The hardest part is accepting that there is no future for us
But I'd rather say goodbye than live a lie
I prefer to end things than pretend everything is okay
(It' s healing time)
(It's time to heal)
Trying to be friends sometimes don't work
Attempting to maintain a friendship can sometimes be futile
The closer we get, the more it hurts
The more we try to be close, the more painful it becomes
So just give back my gifts
Return the gifts I gave you
And please don't say please
Don't try to change my mind with pleading
And don't, don't, don't play that song
Don't play the music that reminds us of what we shared
Just say goodbye
Let's end things with a simple farewell
Don't let me see you cry
Please don't let your emotions show in front of me
Maybe we'll meet again under some other sky
Perhaps we'll cross paths again one day
(You go your way and I'll go mine)
(We'll go our separate ways)
(It's healing time)
(Time to heal)
(Now the hardest thing is knowing that we will never be)
(It's tough to accept that we can never be together)
But I'd rather say goodbye than live a lie
I'd rather end things than pretend they could work out
(It' s healing time, healing time)
(It's time to heal)
Don't look for no words
There's nothing to say
There's nothing to say
We've said all that needs to be said
You can't change my mind
I've made up my mind and nothing can change it
'Cause there ain't no way
Because it simply can't be done
Please no last kiss, I gave one last try
Don't try to prolong our goodbye with one last kiss
We can't be friends, Lord knows we've tried
We've attempted to be friends, but it's just not working
(You go your way and I'll go mine)
(We'll go our separate ways)
(It's healing time)
(Time to heal)
(It'll be bad for you, but good for me)
(It will hurt you more than it hurts me)
(Now the hardest thing is knowing that we will never be)
(Accepting that we can never be together is tough)
(But I'd rather say goodbye than live a lie)
(Ending things is better than pretending everything is okay)
(It' s healing time, healing time)
(It's time to heal)
(You go your way and I'll go mine)
(We'll go our separate ways)
Never be, never be, never be, no, no more, babe
There's no chance of us being together again
Bye-bye, baby, bye- bye, bye-bye, bye-bye,
Goodbye, my love
I've got to go
I have to leave now
Think I held on too long
Perhaps I should have let go sooner
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DARRYL MC CLARY, GORDON CHAMBERS, MICHAEL ALLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gloriajohnson5536
This song heartfelt. Stephanie's voice continues to be Awesome.
@keshawnharris7621
This will forever be my favorite song from her ❤
@joyfulnoiseteam3941
My favorite album 2019 still here
@tishaphillips2198
Love this song ..l'm going through a break up after being in a 2 year relationship
@mylast1stkiss
Maaannnb I wish this was this on iTunes
@keshawnharris7621
I’m mad this song ain’t on Spotify I’m too drove
@7777Lace
I Laced this track with all the Guitar 🎸 work in 2003 with Darryl "Big Baby"McClary & Michael "Sugah Mike" Allen at "Flavor Hood" Studio, in Queens, NY & I wonder why don't see my name on the credits!!!🤔
@C-Lyfe85
Better get ya credit & money.
Did you work on the track before stephanie bought it?
@EMGMuzik-vt2ff
Is this Lace? This is Poon Bruh these are my Tracks I played on this song for Big Baby & Sugah Mike. I played this one and also Never Knew & For U. That's why your name isn't on the credits. Hope all is well with you. I played this song bruh. I believe Gordan Chambers wrote it along with Mike & Big Baby. We did this session at the Lab at Big Baby house with Stephanie Mills being there.
@7777Lace
Euno Muzik Group Inc. Yo Poon, get my from Lefty, Big Baby or Mel & Holla asap!!! Lace